Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, any of the characters in Twilight, or anything related to the books and/or movies. If I did, I would be way too busy- doing dirty things with the Cullen boys- to sit down at my laptop and write this story. The scenes that I did borrow from Stephenie Meyer have been revamped to fit my story.

A/N: Mad Muffin: I also enjoy Jasper half naked. Just wait a few more chapters, and I promise that he'll be all the way naked. Journey2002: Thank you so much for your kind words. I am a grammar whore, so I really try to not have errors in my work. It kills me when I notice one after I've posted the chapter already. And I'm still figuring out where I'm taking it, so you'll know as soon as I do.

A/N 2: Just an FYI that it was extremely hard for me to write this chapter, because as much as I love Jasper, I really am a total Edward/Bella fan. Sorry if it seems rushed or strained, but I tried.

Learning to Live Again

Chapter Twenty-Three: Leaving the Past Behind You

I giggled as Jasper placed a light kiss on top of the bandage on my leg. It was such a simple gesture, but I knew that it meant more than anything. He was learning to manage his thirst around me. It was just another testament of our love.

"Does your back still hurt?" he asked from his spot next to me on the sofa in his living room. I nodded my head slightly but shrugged afterwards. It wasn't as bad as it had been half an hour ago. Carlisle had given me some Advil and it was working.

Rosalie and Emmett burst through the back door, causing all of us to turn our heads toward them.

"He didn't leave town, but we can't find him anywhere," Rosalie announced to the group. Her eyes stopped on me as she gave me a sad smile. Her attitude toward me had greatly improved within the last few days. I don't why it happened, but I would take it while I could.

"I know where he is," I stated before Alice could search for him in her visions.

"I knew you would," Emmett said as he sat across from me in the Cullens' loveseat. Rosalie soon followed, landing in his lap.

"Bella, you don't have to go to him if you don't want to," Esme told me. I know that she wanted me to reach out to Edward, but she understood how I was torn between my past and my future lovers.

"I need to speak with him alone." I looked up at Jasper and was not surprised when he simply nodded his head in understanding. I kissed him before rising from the couch. "We'll be back soon," I promised before running out the back door.

I don't know what compelled me to actually run, especially given my track record. Amazingly enough, I managed to make it to our meadow without hurting myself any further. The pain in my back and leg were numb now. I stopped at the edge of the clearing and watched him sit in silence, staring over the edge of the small cliff.

"I knew that if I waited long enough, you would come," he said without turning around.

"How could I not?"

"How could you fall in love with my brother in just a week's time?" he countered. It stung to hear him say the words aloud, even though I knew that he was thinking them just the same. He was right.

"I can't explain it," I said simply. I walked over to where he sat and joined him on the ground. I leaned against him and was comforted when he didn't pull away from me. "I have loved you since the first moment I saw you on my first day at Forks High. We have been through so much, so much more than any normal teenage couple could begin to comprehend. I will always love and cherish you in a place in my heart, because you were my first love."

I felt Edward's body tighten as I used past tense words. He deserved my honesty, and I know that he would appreciate me not sugarcoating anything for him. He had lived for a century before me, and he would live for who knows how many after me.

"When you left- even though it was for a short time- it made me realize that we really weren't meant to be together. You could leave me. You could live without me. I resented you for it, Edward, because I didn't think that I could. I just wanted to stay in the forest and never be found, but I was. Jasper found me. He could feel the pain I was in, and he came back to make sure that I would be okay."

"As if blaming himself wasn't enough, he decided to take me on as his responsibility. It is thanks to him that I was never submerged into darkness and self-loathing. And it is thanks to him that Laurent didn't kill me when he had the chance. I don't know how or when it happened. All I know is that I started depending on him and falling in love with him. We never meant for this to happen, but it did. And I'm glad it did, because Jasper is so amazing and I really am lucky to have him."

I stopped, not knowing how much more Edward would want to hear. I wanted to be honest, but I didn't feel the need to torment him. Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "You don't have to protect me, Bella."

"I just—I just feel freer to be myself with him. I don't have to be perfect; he loves me for my flaws. He knows that I'm not one to be held back and to be shielded. Jasper knows that I can take care of myself and that I am a strong person. He doesn't try to hold me back or keep me from trying things that may be dangerous. It's like every day is an adventure with him," I explained.

"All I ever wanted was to protect you from what we were," Edward justified.

"It wasn't your job. No one person can solely be responsible for taking care of another person's life. Even parents come in pairs, generally speaking. Jasper understands that I'm his equal, not his responsibility."

We sat in silence for a moment, both of us looking down at the town of Forks. I shivered and Edward's arm wrapped tighter around my shoulders. I leaned closer into him and wrapped my own arm around his waist. "Will you ever forgive me?" I whispered into his chest.

"I already have, my sweet Bella." He kissed the top of my head. "I could never stay angry with you, because I love you too much. I will always love you, Bella, even if I can't have you as my partner. I still want you in my life."

"I'll always be in your life, Edward. We're family." I pulled back to look up into his eyes. They were still dark with sadness, but I could see understanding in them as well. I placed my hands on his cheeks and pulled his face to mine, resting our foreheads together. I placed one final kiss on Edward's cold lips before pulling away.

"Please don't cry, Bella," he begged me. "I can't stand to see you hurting."

I chuckled under my breath. "I could say the same thing to you, Edward."

"I have an eternity to deal with it," he said, shrugging off my concern for him. "And I'll still have you in my life."

"Forever." I spoke the word without thinking. I didn't realize that it would cut Edward even deeper than he already was.

"So Jasper is going to—" He couldn't finish the sentence.

"We haven't really talked about it yet. But I couldn't imagine not spending forever with him. I couldn't bear for something as insignificant as time to stand in our way."

"Time is not insignificant, especially when you have lots of it. Think long and hard before acting on your urges, sweetheart. It's more dangerous than you think," he warned. Edward swiftly stood from the ground and pulled me up with him.

"I am so not speaking with you about that, Edward."

"Good, because I don't want to hear about it. I just want you to be careful. Jasper is still new at the vegetarian lifestyle, Bella. He proved that at your birthday party."

"He's only weak because you make him out to be. All of you have no faith in him, but I do. Jasper has not tried to hurt me once since we've been spending more time together. Even today, when my leg was bleeding, he was fine. He stood by my side while Carlisle wrapped it in a bandage. He kissed the bandage, Edward. He is fine, and I am perfectly safe with him."

My voice had risen to a shout by the end of my tirade. I couldn't stop it from happening, though. How dare he judge my boyfriend?! He hadn't even seen us together this week. His first impression of us as a couple was caving in on our hormones.

"Bella, I don't mean to insult Jasper, but I do want you to stay safe from harm. I would do anything to protect you, even if you don't want me to. That is how important you are to me." Edward grabbed my arms, holding me in front of him.

"I don't know, Edward, maybe Jasper was right. Maybe he and I should go away for awhile. That way, you can get used to it all. We wouldn't be rubbing it in your face. You could learn to understand that I'm safe with him, and that I can take care of myself. Did I not prove that earlier today when you two were starting to get violent?" I raised my eyebrow at him, daring him to deny what I was saying.

"Oh, you mean when I accidentally knock you into the wall. Yeah, you were doing a knock-up job of taking care of yourself then," he taunted me.

"No, I mean when I broke the window of Jasper and my bedroom with my mind," I yelled at him. I don't know which shocked him more, the fact that I admitted to him that Jasper and I were sharing a room or the fact that I had managed to break the window with my new power.

"That really was you, wasn't it?" he asked, dumbfounded. "I was hoping that it was just a freak coincidence. I had been trying to keep it out of my mind."

"Why? It means that I can finally bring something to the table when we're in trouble. I help Jasper fight off Laurent. Me! I am not the same helpless Bella that you fell in love with last year."

"I see that now," he whispered. Edward's hands dropped from my arms and to his side. He turned away from me and took a step toward the clearing. When I didn't move, he turned back to me. "Come on, let's go home."

I reached out and grabbed his hand as we started walking at a human pace back to the Cullen home. It was my home now, too. "You should talk to your brother, too, Edward. I don't want you to be angry with each other."

"I will, Bella."

Neither of us noticed the movement on the other side of our clearing. I only saw an orange streak out of the corner of my eye, but I was too preoccupied to think anything of it.